Wednesday, December 13, 2006

Miscellaneous Wednesday thoughts

On Radio National this evening, another earnest discussion on cell research: "...it would then not be a sheep liver, it would be a human liver, grown in a sheep environment". One man's sheep environment is another man's sheep.

How do new cells know what's going on? Skin cells are always sloughing off and being replaced. How can tattoos be permanent? Why do I have a scar on my hand from something that happened when I was ten? Is there some sort of orientation session for new cells? "OK, listen up, I'm sure you're all excited about being part of a new layer of Barry's skin, but the bad news is, you are stained blue, and you are part of the elbow of a wonky mermaid tattoo Baz got when he was 17".

I like the town of Rosebud, on the Mornington peninsula south of Melbourne. You know the famous scene in Citizen Kane, where the hero's last word is "Rosebud"? I like to think that he died while trying to say "Rosebud Tyre and Exhaust Centre" or "Rosebud West Fish and Chips".